Highlights and images for 5 May 2017

Switzerland

Summary

The meetings of the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions concluded on Friday. In the morning, the high-level segment continued. Tim Kasten, UN Environment, reported from ministers roundtable discussions on the theme “A Future Detoxified: the Sound Management of Chemicals and Wastes.” Ministers, Vice-Ministers and Ambassadors then engaged in an interactive discussion.

In the afternoon, the COPs adopted their outstanding decisions. Basel Convention COP13 President Mohammed Khashashneh noted that May 5, 2017 is the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Basel Convention. Closing the meeting, BRS Executive Secretary Rolph Payet and Rotterdam Convention Executive Secretary – Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO) Bill Murray thanked delegates for their diligence and efforts to realize cooperation.

The Basel Convention COP 13 gaveled to a close at 6:35 pm. The Rotterdam Convention COP 8 gaveled to a close at 6:39 pm. The Stockholm Convention COP 8 gaveled to a close at 6:40 pm.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided digital coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 2017 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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High-Level Segment

Delegates gather in plenary for the High-Level Segment

Tim Kasten, Deputy Director, Economy Division, UN Environment

Moderator Juliette Foster, Broadcaster and Journalist

Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland

Ministerial Panel during the High-Level Segment

Oppah Chamu Muchinguri, Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Zimbabwe

Khaled Fahmy, Minister of Environment, Egypt

Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Luxembourg

Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment, Republic of the Congo

Singappuli Premajayantha, Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy, Sri Lanka

Noel Holder, Minister of Agriculture, Guyana

Sydney Samuels, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Guatemala

Arlette Sombo-Dibele, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing, Central African Republic

Etienne Didier Dogley, Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Seychelles

Sundus Omar Ali, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iraq

Marcos Alegre, Vice Minister of Environmental Management, Peru

Kare Chawicha Debessa, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Ethiopia

Walter Garcia, Minister of Environment, Ecuador

Nestor Batio Bassiere, Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change, Burkina Faso

Adalah Atteereh, Chairman, Environment Quality Authority, Palestine

Mehmet Ceylan, Deputy Minister of Environment and Urbanization, Turkey

Santiago Francisco Engonga Esono, Secretary of State, Ministry of Forests and the Environment, Equatorial Guinea

Per Änquist, Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Sweden

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions

Closing Plenary

COP Presidents and BRS Secretariat consult before the start of the closing plenary

Sam Adu-Kumi, Stockholm Convention COP 8 President

Franz Perrez, Rotterdam Convention COP 8 President

Mohammed Khashashneh, Basel Convention COP 13 President

Delegates applaud the election of the new bureau

Final negotiations take place among the Co-Chairs of the Contact Group on Technical Assistance and Financial Resources, the EU, Egypt, and India

Fredrick Mupoti Sikabongo, Namibia

Anne Daniel, Canada

Mohsen Naziriasl, Iran

Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Pakistan

Lemnyuy Albun William Banye, Cameroon

Francisco Fabian Saez, Argentina, speaking on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC)

Felix Wertli, Switzerland

Serge Molly Allo'o Allo'o, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group

Pamela Miller, International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN)

James Mulolo, Basel Convention Regional Centre (BCRC)-South Africa

Sarojeni Rengam, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia and the Pacific

Bill Murray, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention - Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO)

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions

BRS COPs family photo

Around the Venue

Delegates from Cambodia

Delegates from the Marshall Islands

Delegates from Saudi Arabia with Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources

Delegates from Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Delegates from Australia

Delegates from Argentina

Nestor Batio Bassiere, Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change, Burkina Faso, speaks with delegates

Osvaldo Patricio Álvarez Pérez, Chile, incoming Rotterdam Convention COP 9 President, with Bill Murray, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention - FAO

Mahamat Djimadingar, Chad

Mohammed Khashashneh, Basel Convention COP 13 President, conducts an interview

Shankar Prasad, Nepal

Delegates between sessions

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering the meeting (L-R): Annelies van Gaalen, South Africa; Tallash Kantai, Kenya; Jessica Templeton, US/UK; Yixian Sun, China; Jen Allan, Canada; Jonelle Jones, Trinidad and Tobago; and Kiara Worth, South Africa

Participants